第三十六章 第二章
医生走后不久，多莉也来了。她知道这天会诊，虽然她产后刚恢复（去年冬末她又生了个小女儿），虽然她自己也有不少烦恼和焦虑，但她还是撇下襁褓中的婴儿和生病的孩子，来听吉蒂的命运——那天就要作出决定了。
“怎么样，怎么样？”她走进客厅，连帽子也没摘，就问，“你们都兴高采烈的。那么是好消息了？”
他们想告诉她医生说了什么，可是，尽管医生说得十分清楚，也讲了不少时间，却根本无法转述他的话。唯一有趣的一点是，他们决定要出国了。
多莉不由得叹了口气。她最亲爱的朋友、她的妹妹要走了。她的生活并不愉快。和斯捷潘·阿尔卡季奇和解之后，他们的关系变得很难堪。安娜促成的这个结合并不牢固，家庭和睦又在同一个问题上再次破裂。虽然没有明确的事儿，但斯捷潘·阿尔卡季奇几乎总不在家；钱也几乎总是不够用；多莉一直被不忠的猜疑折磨着，她努力想打消这些念头，又害怕已经尝过的那种嫉妒的痛苦。第一次嫉妒的冲击一旦过去，就再也不会回来了；即使是发现不忠，也不会像第一次那样影响她了。现在发现这种事，只会意味着家庭习惯被打破；她听凭自己受骗，既鄙视他，更鄙视自己的软弱。此外，照顾一大家子人也让她一直操心：不是小婴儿的奶水问题，就是奶妈走了，现在又一个孩子病了。
“你们大家都好吗？”母亲问。
“啊，妈妈，我们自己也有不少麻烦。莉莉病了，恐怕是猩红热。我现在是来听吉蒂的消息的，然后我就要把自己完全关起来了，如果——千万别这样——真是猩红热的话。”
医生走后，老亲王也从书房出来了。他亲了亲多莉的脸颊，跟她说了几句话，然后转向妻子：
“你们怎么决定的？要走了吗？那，你们打算把我怎么办？”
“我想你最好还是留在这儿，亚历山大。”妻子说。
“随你的便吧。”
“妈妈，为什么爸爸不跟我们一起去呢？”吉蒂说，“这样对他好，对我们也好。”
老亲王站起来，抚摩着吉蒂的头发。她抬起头，勉强笑着看他。她总觉得，虽然关于她的事他说得不多，但他比家里任何人都更了解她。作为最小的孩子，她是父亲的掌上明珠，她以为他的爱给了他洞察力。此时，当她与那专注地看着她的和蔼的蓝眼睛相遇时，她觉得他似乎看透了她，明白了她内心一切不好的想法。她红着脸，凑过去想让他亲一下，但他只是拍了拍她的头发说：
“这些愚蠢的发髻！根本碰不到真女儿。简直是在摸死人的鬃毛。喂，多琳卡，”他转向大女儿，“你那年轻小伙子在干什么，嗯？”
“没什么，爸爸。”多莉回答，明白他说的是丈夫。“他总是不在家；我几乎见不到他。”她忍不住带着讽刺的微笑补充道。
“怎么，他还没下乡去——处理那片森林的出售吗？”
“没有，他还在准备出门的事。”
“啊，是这样！”亲王说，“那么我也该准备出门了吗？听你的吩咐。”他对妻子说着坐了下来。“我跟你说，卡佳，”他又对小儿女说，“总有一天，你一觉醒来，会对自己说：咦，我挺好的，又高兴又快活，又要跟爸爸在清晨的霜冻里出去散步了。嗯？”
父亲说的话似乎很简单，但听了这话，吉蒂却像个被逮住的罪犯一样慌乱不堪。“是的，他全都看出来了，全都明白了，他是在用这些话告诉我，虽然我很难为情，但我必须克服这种难为情。”她鼓不起勇气回答。她想要开口，却突然泪如雨下，冲出了房间。
“看你开玩笑的结果！”公爵夫人对丈夫发起火来，“你总是……”她开始了一连串的责备。
亲王默默地听了公爵夫人好一阵子的数落，但脸色越来越阴沉。
“她太可怜了，可怜的孩子，太可怜了，你难道不知道，听到任何与那原因有关的暗示，她心里有多难过吗？唉，看人看得这么不准！”公爵夫人说。从她语气的变化，多莉和亲王都知道她说的是弗龙斯基。“我不知道为什么没有法律来惩罚这种卑鄙无耻的人。”
“唉，我不爱听你说这些！”亲王阴沉地说，从矮椅子上站起来，似乎急于离开，却又在门口停住了。“有法律，夫人，既然你要我说，那我就告诉你，这都怪谁：怪你，就怪你，不怪别人。对付这种年轻浪荡子的法律，过去有，现在也有！是的，要是没出什么不该出的事，就算我老了，我也要叫他出来决斗，这个花花公子。是的，可你现在呢，给她吃药，找这些庸医来。”
亲王显然还有满肚子话要说，但公爵夫人一听到他的语气，立刻就蔫了，像平时遇到严重情况时那样，变得一副后悔的样子。
“亚历山大，亚历山大，”她低语着，走到他身边，哭了起来。
她一哭，亲王也平静下来。他走到她身边。
“好了，好了，够了！我知道你也很难受。没办法。没什么大不了的。上帝是仁慈的……谢谢……”他含含糊糊地说着，回应着公爵夫人流着泪的亲吻，他感到她的手吻落在自己手上。然后亲王走出了房间。
在这之前，吉蒂一哭着出去，多莉凭着做母亲的、持家的本能，立即意识到眼下她有一件女人的工作要做，于是她准备去做了。她摘下帽子，可以说，她卷起袖子，准备行动了。在母亲攻击父亲的时候，她尽量在孝道允许的范围内约束母亲。在亲王爆发的时候，她保持沉默；她为母亲感到羞愧，又为父亲这么快就变得和蔼而怜悯他。但父亲走后，她就准备去做那最必要、最主要的事——去找吉蒂，安慰她。
“妈妈，我有一件事早就想跟您说了：您知道吗，上次列文来的时候，是想向吉蒂求婚的？他跟斯蒂瓦说过。”
“哦，那又怎样？我不明白……”
“那么，吉蒂也许拒绝了他？……她没告诉你吗？”
“没有，她什么都没跟我说，那件事也好，这件事也好；她太骄傲了。但我知道，全都是因为那个人。”
“是的，可是，假如她拒绝了列文，要不是因为那个人，她是不会拒绝他的，我知道。然后，他那么可怕地欺骗了她。”
公爵夫人一想到自己怎样对不起女儿，就觉得太可怕了，于是发起火来。
“哦，我真的不明白！现在她们都自己拿主意，当母亲的一句话也说不上，然后……”
“妈妈，我到她那儿去。”
“好吧，去。我说过不让你去了吗？”母亲说。
Soon after the doctor, Dolly had arrived. She knew that there was to be
a consultation that day, and though she was only just up after her
confinement (she had another baby, a little girl, born at the end of
the winter), though she had trouble and anxiety enough of her own, she
had left her tiny baby and a sick child, to come and hear Kitty’s fate,
which was to be decided that day.
“Well, well?” she said, coming into the drawing-room, without taking
off her hat. “You’re all in good spirits. Good news, then?”
They tried to tell her what the doctor had said, but it appeared that
though the doctor had talked distinctly enough and at great length, it
was utterly impossible to report what he had said. The only point of
interest was that it was settled they should go abroad.
Dolly could not help sighing. Her dearest friend, her sister, was going
away. And her life was not a cheerful one. Her relations with Stepan
Arkadyevitch after their reconciliation had become humiliating. The
union Anna had cemented turned out to be of no solid character, and
family harmony was breaking down again at the same point. There had
been nothing definite, but Stepan Arkadyevitch was hardly ever at home;
money, too, was hardly ever forthcoming, and Dolly was continually
tortured by suspicions of infidelity, which she tried to dismiss,
dreading the agonies of jealousy she had been through already. The
first onslaught of jealousy, once lived through, could never come back
again, and even the discovery of infidelities could never now affect
her as it had the first time. Such a discovery now would only mean
breaking up family habits, and she let herself be deceived, despising
him and still more herself, for the weakness. Besides this, the care of
her large family was a constant worry to her: first, the nursing of her
young baby did not go well, then the nurse had gone away, now one of
the children had fallen ill.
“Well, how are all of you?” asked her mother.
“Ah, mamma, we have plenty of troubles of our own. Lili is ill, and I’m
afraid it’s scarlatina. I have come here now to hear about Kitty, and
then I shall shut myself up entirely, if—God forbid—it should be
scarlatina.”
The old prince too had come in from his study after the doctor’s
departure, and after presenting his cheek to Dolly, and saying a few
words to her, he turned to his wife:
“How have you settled it? you’re going? Well, and what do you mean to
do with me?”
“I suppose you had better stay here, Alexander,” said his wife.
“That’s as you like.”
“Mamma, why shouldn’t father come with us?” said Kitty. “It would be
nicer for him and for us too.”
The old prince got up and stroked Kitty’s hair. She lifted her head and
looked at him with a forced smile. It always seemed to her that he
understood her better than anyone in the family, though he did not say
much about her. Being the youngest, she was her father’s favorite, and
she fancied that his love gave him insight. When now her glance met his
blue kindly eyes looking intently at her, it seemed to her that he saw
right through her, and understood all that was not good that was
passing within her. Reddening, she stretched out towards him expecting
a kiss, but he only patted her hair and said:
